The DePauw women's basketball team ended its season in bittersweet fashion this past weekend with a 51-48 loss to Carthage College in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Tigers, who finished with a final record of 27-2, dispatched newcomers Westminster College (Miss.) before falling to the Lady Reds.
Against Westminster, DePauw's first 10 minutes displayed its vast experience and comfort in home playoff games, as the Tigers jumped to an early 10-3 lead. The Blue Jays continued to chip away at the lead, but the DPU fast break kept the teams separated by 11 with under five minutes to play in the first half.
Freshman Savannah Trees' three-pointer with 2:27 left on the clock pushed DePauw up 27-17. Westminster, however, proved their worth with a spirited 9-0 run, topped off by a layup with 11 seconds left. Confidence slightly shaken, DePauw headed the locker room with a one point lead going into the second half.
The underdog Blue Jays remained incredibly scrappy in the second half, tying the score multiple times and pushing DePauw into an absolute dogfight.
DePauw led 45-41 with 9:33 to play. In their typical second half display, the Tiger's rose to the occasion. Sophomore Alex Gasaway hit a jump shot, junior Kate Walker added a three-point play and senior Katie Aldrich capped the run with a layup of her own. DePauw led 54-41.
Westminster, fighting for its tournament life, threw its faith behind the diminutive Rachel Backes and clawed to within 10 points. DePauw responded to the late challenge by scoring the game's last 10 points and taking the 66-46 victory.
Aldrich stood out, scoring 19 points and pulling down 7 rebounds. Walker, the second half savior, recorded all 12 of her points after the break. She also dished out 5 assists. The one unflattering statistic for the Tigers came from behind the arc as the team converted just one of 13 threes on the game. This proved to be theme for the Tigers in their next game as well.
"There is no underdog in [this] game," said head coach Kris Huffman before the Carthage match up. "This is a team that shoots incredibly well and plays good basketball."
The NCAA second round match up between DePauw and Carthage was a battle between one of the best rebounding teams in the nation and one of the best shooting teams in the nation. Carthage and their precision from the perimeter proved the victor, as DePauw could not pace the Lady Reds' offensive flow.
Carthage grabbed an early 5-0 lead, but DePauw soon responded with an eight point run to take a 14-10 lead. The game turned then slowed down offensively as neither team scored in the last 2:30 of the half. Carthage took a 25-24 lead into halftime with both teams very much in it. The first half exemplified the impressive statistics that defined both teams as DePauw led rebounding 23-7 and Carthage shot 10-18, including four of seven from beyond the arch.
"We rebounded well, we just could not get the ball to fall on the offensive end," Huffman said.
Carthage quickly increased the lead to four in the beginning of the second period, but a 10-0 run compliments of Walker, Aldrich, Gasaway, and sophomore Ali Ross put DePauw in the 41-36 driver's seat. Junior Ellie Pearson continued her knack for rebounds, gabbing 11 in total.
"I went into the game wanting to get every rebound," Pearson said.
DePauw held the lead as Carthage bit at the Tiger's heels. Aldrich hit a bucket to push the lead to 45-40. Carthage answered with four before Kate Walker hit a three pointer to open the lead, 48-44. Unfortunately for DePauw, Walker's 3:53 basket would be the Tiger's final conversion.
Carthage climbed to within a point with two minutes to play. Forty seconds later, the Lady Red took the lead with a three pointer. DePauw's three-point effort missed and Carthage capitalized with another basket to make it 51-48 with twenty seconds left. The Tiger's missed a three-pointer, recovered the rebound, but lost the ball in the final 11 seconds after Trees stepped on the line receiving the inbounds pass.
The loss snapped the team's 26-game win streak. Despite the loss, Huffman was enthusiastic about her team's season.
"I am very, very proud of this team," Huffman said.
DePauw ends their season with a 27-2 record, an NCAC Regular Season Championship, a NCAC Tournament Championship, the NCAC women's basketball coach of the year (Kris Huffman), the NCAC women's basketball player of the year (Katie Aldrich) and two NCAC first-team members (Aldrich and Ali Ross).